Chapter 73 Section 73

Chongli was accompanied by Ronglu's invitation, and the host and guest was Li Bingheng, the imperial envoy of the Yangtze River Navy. Li Bingheng is a native of Fengtian Haicheng. The county magistrate who donated the class was born. He has been in Dangzhou County of Zhili and is known as "the number one honest official".Later, he was appreciated by Zhang Zhidong, and served as an inspector in Guangxi. When the Sino-French war broke out, Li Bingheng was stationed in Longzhou to preside over the Western Transport Bureau. Medicine has medicine, so Feng Zicai's Lang Son victory came about.

In the 20th year of Guangxu, Li Bingheng had been the governor of Shandong, and he was a well-known figure in the minister of the frontier.It's just xenophobia, which led to the murder of a German priest.The imperial court was quite understanding, and promoted the governor of Sichuan according to Ding Baozhen's example back then, but the German minister let him go and boycotted him endlessly.Li Bingheng was dismissed because of this, and lived in seclusion in Anyang, Henan Province for three years before he was reinstated on the recommendation of Fortitude. Tour the Yangtze River.This time, King Qin, who led the army, came to the capital, greeted him at the palace gate, and summoned him immediately, led by Rong Lu.

When His Majesty saw it, Li Bingheng first stated that he was the first to lead the performance of Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong's southeast self-protection, but it was Sheng Xuanhuai's false name, not his original intention.Then I made a statement, saying that the foreign soldiers are good at water skills, but not good at land battles. If they are lured deeply, it is not difficult to wipe them out.Therefore, although Tianjin is lost, there is no need to worry about it. When the coalition forces arrive in the Tongzhou area, they will suffer a great loss. What the Empress Dowager Cixi was worried about was the attack on the capital. Hearing Li Bingheng's words, she was greatly relieved, and of course she was also greatly praised.Soon two orders were issued. One was that Li Bingheng would appreciate horseback riding in the Forbidden City, and he would allow two people to sit in the Forbidden City and Xiyuan Gate.One is that Xia Xinyou, Zhang Chunfa, Chen Zelin, and Wan Benhua, who belonged to the King of Qin in Shandong and Jiangxi, were all under the control of Li Bingheng. At the same time, he was given a title: "Assist in the affairs of the Wuwei Army" as Ronglu's deputy.

Rong Lu also had high expectations of him.It's not that I hope that he can really repel the coalition forces, I just hope that if he can resist for a while, it will be much easier for Li Hongzhang to make peace.Therefore, he was very polite to Li Bingheng.There is a special feast for him on this day. Chongli and other accompanying guests were all present, and Li Bingheng arrived in a hurry, sweating profusely and looking a little flustered.After exchanging pleasantries in a hurry, he said to Rong Lu, "Please let Zhongtang speak for a while." "Yes, good!" Rong Lu apologized to the accompanying guests, and personally led Li Bingheng to the back room for a secret talk.

"Zhongtang! The foreign soldiers are so powerful, so there is no certainty in the war. I have been ordered to go to the front this time, and I have made up my mind. I will die to serve the country! Please Zhongtang quickly play the empress dowager, call Li Zhongtang to Beijing to discuss peace, the sooner the better !" Rong Lu could hardly believe his ears, "Jiantang," he asked bluntly, "I don't understand what you mean! In front of the Empress Dowager, didn't you say that people's hearts cannot be shaken, diplomatic relations cannot be trusted, and the war must be sure?" ?"

"Yes!" Li Bingheng lowered his head in shame: "This moment, that moment! I didn't expect such a disparity in the number of people. I only found out after inquiring carefully at noon!" After finishing speaking, he cupped his hands: Ma, I really can't bother you!" Rong Lu lingered almost all night, until it was dark, and then he made a decision. What he was thinking about repeatedly was the behavior of the two palaces.The defense of the capital was originally placed on Li Bingheng, who knew that he was discouraged first.It is hard to say that Song Qing and Ma Yukun's troops can last for a few days for the army of Qin Wang, who hastily formed an army and is difficult to defend against a strong enemy.Once the coalition forces arrived at the city, the safety of the two palaces could not be ignored.However, as soon as the empress dowager and the emperor left the capital, people's hearts were shaken, and they would collapse before the enemy came!We can learn from the past when Wenzong avoided going to Rehe.

After much deliberation, I always feel that there is no need for the two palaces to leave Beijing. We will see the situation later.It's really a no-decision decision, but it's better than no decision at all.After thinking about it, he immediately entered the palace.As usual, after the whole squad of military planes visited, he was left alone to discuss the grand plan of Empress Dowager Cixi's unwillingness to be heard by others like Gang Yi. "With the addition of Li Bingheng as a helper, it seems that the situation can be stabilized for the time being." Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Shouldn't Li Hongzhang go to Beijing as soon as possible?"

"Yes!" Rong Lu replied, "We have to call him again." "I was thinking, if he negotiates peace with foreigners in Shanghai, can it be different?" "I'm afraid it won't work! The ministers of various countries are in Beijing, and Shanghai only has consuls, so they can't be the masters. Even if the discussion is held, the consuls of various countries have to ask their ministers for instructions, but the information is not available, and the consuls have nothing to do. All in all, now we can only do our best to protect The embassy, ​​leave room for peace. If there is any trouble again, the situation will become even more difficult."

Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, then turned to ask, "What does the emperor mean?" Usually, the emperor would always answer like this: "The Queen Mother is the master of everything." But this time, there was no such sentence, and he blinked his eyes and thought for a while and said: "Rong Lu, you have to do your best, and now it's up to you. Your You have a clear head, and you are well-organized. You said just now that you can only do your best to protect the embassy, ​​which is very true! Just do as you want, follow the instructions of the empress dowager, and do it well!"

In the nearly two years since the 1898 coup, Rong Lu had never received such praise from the emperor, so not only did he feel flattered, he was almost grateful, and his eyes were moist. Therefore, they bumped their heads unconsciously, and replied, "I will obey the holy edict." When he raised his head, he realized that it seemed inappropriate for him to act in front of Empress Dowager Cixi, so he took a quick look.Fortunately, Empress Dowager Cixi looked as usual, so she was relieved. "Yesterday, Big Brother advised me to leave Beijing, but I ignored him. However, be prepared,"

Empress Dowager Cixi paused and asked, "What do you think?" This question just happened to allow Rong Lu to say what he wanted to say, and he immediately replied: "Empress Dowager Wan'an! The slaves have already told Chen Kuilong that two hundred carts are prepared there. It's just like a kind order, it means to be prepared. When it comes to reality, the servant is bold enough to ask the empress dowager to put aside this thought. The current situation is different from the Xianfeng period. At that time, although Lord Xianfeng was in the palace, there were King Gong, Wenxiang, and Monk King in Beijing, all of whom could support him. The overall situation, and there are only foreign aggressions, no internal strife, so it doesn't matter too much. Now we can only rely on the kindness of the empress dowager to suppress it. If the empress dowager and the emperor go north to hunt Rehe, who will be sent to stay in Beijing? I think it is a slave No one can bear this responsibility! Besides, if the Empress Dowager leaves Beijing, Li Hongzhang will not even dare to enter Beijing!" Halfway through hearing it, the Empress Dowager Cixi nodded repeatedly, and when she finished listening, she immediately replied: "That's true! There are many people who would make things difficult for Li Hongzhang. If I wasn't in Beijing, he would never dare to come! A man in his seventies People, I can't bear to be frightened. All right!" She said very bravely, "I will never leave!" "With the words of the empress dowager, it is truly a blessing for the people of the country." "You have to be careful!" Empress Dowager Cixi said with concern: "There are also many people who hate you. People who are arrogant are blind and bold, and they will ignore everything. You must not be careless." "Yes!" Rong Lu bumped his head again: "I know this myself. Please be at ease, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. I must not be tricked by others." "Look, Li Shan! I really don't believe that he is someone who has an affair with foreign countries, but..." Empress Dowager Cixi didn't say any more, shook her head, and sighed slightly.